Neither good nor horrible.

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Jason94
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Neither good nor horrible.

Post by Jason94 »

This was not a great game for us, but not that bad either - it actually was not nearly as bad as the VCU loss for a few reasons: 1 - SMU is a better team than VCU, 2 - SMU was favored in this game and 3 - this game was on the road.

It feels worse because he built the lead on shooting that was probably a bit aberrant (more for them than us, but true for both), and when the correction came, it came in a way that created a whole lot of momentum that we were unable to recover from on the road. This shooting correction coincided with a bad imbalance of turnovers in the 2nd half as SMU stopped commiting them while we continued at the same pace we established in the first half (8 to 2 in TO's in the 2nd half). SMU probably should have beaten us by a little bit at home and a 12 point loss isn't great, but a 11 point loss at home to a team we should have beaten soundly (VCU) was actually a much worse outcome. Otherwise we did a good job on the glass, especially the offensive glass, which is a little bit of a surprise.

We kind of are who we are - better than last year, but with the loss of Disu and without the services of Chatman and Robbins, not that much better at the moment. It isn't at all a stretch to say that should those players become available that we could be a lot better than we were last season, but given our luck over the last decade, I will hope that they return but not be surprised if we get some bad news. We are improving, but due to roster turnover are improving more slowly than is ideal.


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Re: Neither good nor horrible.

Post by Nashmann »

Jason94 wrote: Sat Dec 04, 2021 8:37 pm This was not a great game for us, but not that bad either - it actually was not nearly as bad as the VCU loss for a few reasons: 1 - SMU is a better team than VCU, 2 - SMU was favored in this game and 3 - this game was on the road.

It feels worse because he built the lead on shooting that was probably a bit aberrant (more for them than us, but true for both), and when the correction came, it came in a way that created a whole lot of momentum that we were unable to recover from on the road. This shooting correction coincided with a bad imbalance of turnovers in the 2nd half as SMU stopped commiting them while we continued at the same pace we established in the first half (8 to 2 in TO's in the 2nd half). SMU probably should have beaten us by a little bit at home and a 12 point loss isn't great, but a 11 point loss at home to a team we should have beaten soundly (VCU) was actually a much worse outcome. Otherwise we did a good job on the glass, especially the offensive glass, which is a little bit of a surprise.

We kind of are who we are - better than last year, but with the loss of Disu and without the services of Chatman and Robbins, not that much better at the moment. It isn't at all a stretch to say that should those players become available that we could be a lot better than we were last season, but given our luck over the last decade, I will hope that they return but not be surprised if we get some bad news. We are improving, but due to roster turnover are improving more slowly than is ideal.
Everyone seems to think we will be world beaters when(if) Chatman & Robbins enter. We have no idea how they will affect the team. The only improvement I see this year is we have a bigger bench to work with(not talent) I think DeZonie has some good upside as he seems to be settling down and adjusting to the game.
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Jason94
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Re: Neither good nor horrible.

Post by Jason94 »

Nashmann wrote: Sat Dec 04, 2021 8:49 pm
Jason94 wrote: Sat Dec 04, 2021 8:37 pm This was not a great game for us, but not that bad either - it actually was not nearly as bad as the VCU loss for a few reasons: 1 - SMU is a better team than VCU, 2 - SMU was favored in this game and 3 - this game was on the road.

It feels worse because he built the lead on shooting that was probably a bit aberrant (more for them than us, but true for both), and when the correction came, it came in a way that created a whole lot of momentum that we were unable to recover from on the road. This shooting correction coincided with a bad imbalance of turnovers in the 2nd half as SMU stopped commiting them while we continued at the same pace we established in the first half (8 to 2 in TO's in the 2nd half). SMU probably should have beaten us by a little bit at home and a 12 point loss isn't great, but a 11 point loss at home to a team we should have beaten soundly (VCU) was actually a much worse outcome. Otherwise we did a good job on the glass, especially the offensive glass, which is a little bit of a surprise.

We kind of are who we are - better than last year, but with the loss of Disu and without the services of Chatman and Robbins, not that much better at the moment. It isn't at all a stretch to say that should those players become available that we could be a lot better than we were last season, but given our luck over the last decade, I will hope that they return but not be surprised if we get some bad news. We are improving, but due to roster turnover are improving more slowly than is ideal.
Everyone seems to think we will be world beaters when(if) Chatman & Robbins enter. We have no idea how they will affect the team. The only improvement I see this year is we have a bigger bench to work with(not talent) I think DeZonie has some good upside as he seems to be settling down and adjusting to the game.
Where exactly did I say that? I think that with them we are likely to be better, and given that we have only one player taller than 6'-8", why exactly do you think that we wouldn't be any better? It is relatively straight forward - we don't have a lot of depth, and two players on the roster with a combined 8 years of experience at a high level of competition are currently injured. I'd be shocked if when healthy they didn't make us a good bit better.
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Re: Neither good nor horrible.

Post by Nashmann »

Didn't say you said that....but many on here feel that way or at least make the comments. Just speculation that's all. I thought a lot of things at the beginning of the season. Don't really see this team progressing too far up the SEC ladder. STILL not a lot of talent....or SEC talent. Maybe a few will grow into is in time. You can teach defense but takes a long time to coach someone up to play better offense. Still takes God-given talent! Guess I am just disappointed from my high expectations. My rose-colored glasses have fogged up.
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Re: Neither good nor horrible.

Post by commadore »

Personally, I think with Chapman and Robbins healthy and in shape we could be an 8-8 conference team with only 1 to 2 losses in the preseason. That would probably get us to the NIT. Problem is, in how good a shape will they be in when they return and how will they interact with the team. That in itself could take a few games.
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Re: Neither good nor horrible.

Post by alathIN »

Nashmann wrote: Sat Dec 04, 2021 8:49 pm
Jason94 wrote: Sat Dec 04, 2021 8:37 pm This was not a great game for us, but not that bad either - it actually was not nearly as bad as the VCU loss for a few reasons: 1 - SMU is a better team than VCU, 2 - SMU was favored in this game and 3 - this game was on the road.

It feels worse because he built the lead on shooting that was probably a bit aberrant (more for them than us, but true for both), and when the correction came, it came in a way that created a whole lot of momentum that we were unable to recover from on the road. This shooting correction coincided with a bad imbalance of turnovers in the 2nd half as SMU stopped commiting them while we continued at the same pace we established in the first half (8 to 2 in TO's in the 2nd half). SMU probably should have beaten us by a little bit at home and a 12 point loss isn't great, but a 11 point loss at home to a team we should have beaten soundly (VCU) was actually a much worse outcome. Otherwise we did a good job on the glass, especially the offensive glass, which is a little bit of a surprise.

We kind of are who we are - better than last year, but with the loss of Disu and without the services of Chatman and Robbins, not that much better at the moment. It isn't at all a stretch to say that should those players become available that we could be a lot better than we were last season, but given our luck over the last decade, I will hope that they return but not be surprised if we get some bad news. We are improving, but due to roster turnover are improving more slowly than is ideal.
Everyone seems to think we will be world beaters when(if) Chatman & Robbins enter. We have no idea how they will affect the team. The only improvement I see this year is we have a bigger bench to work with(not talent) I think DeZonie has some good upside as he seems to be settling down and adjusting to the game.
I think the added depth does have talent - Dezonie, Mann, Frank, and Lawrence are new or newly available and all talented players. The problem to me is that none of them bring big presence in the paint, none of them are lock down perimeter defenders, and none of them is a true point.
I more overall talent than last year but still the same missing pieces.
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Re: Neither good nor horrible.

Post by buffy »

There you go. That's it. Same missing pieces. And through amazing crazy luck, the two guys brought in to help are sitting on the bench hurt. We're a special kind of unlucky.
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